Monday Music News

The bad news is, the Sasquatch! Music Festival has announced they’ll be canceling the Fourth of July line-up, due to poor ticket sales. The good news is, the Paramount have already snatched up headliners Kraftwerk to bring their 3-D extravaganza to their stage on July 1st. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 4th at 10 AM, with pre-sale opportunities for those of y’all who bought tickets to Sasquatch! Weekend II. [The Stranger’s Line Out]

GWAR frontman Dave Brockie (a.k.a. Oderus Urungus) passed away yesterday evening at his home in Richmond, Virginia. The metal band was known for their outrageous live performances, involving copious amounts of fake blood. Brockie was only 50 years old. Bassist Mike Bishop released the following statement: “Dave was one of the funniest, smartest, most creative and energetic persons I’ve known. He was brash sometimes, always crass, irreverent, he was hilarious in every way. But he was also deeply intelligent and interested in life, history, politics and art. His penchant for scatological humors belied a lucid wit. He was a criminally underrated lyricist and hard rock vocalist, one of the best, ever! A great front man, a great painter, writer, he was also a hell of a bass guitarist. I loved him. He was capable of great empathy and had a real sense of justice.” [Spin]

Master whistler Andrew Bird has released a cover of the New Pornographers’ track “The Fake Headlines,” which you can stream below. Bird’s rendition will kick off the compilation Good People Rock, which benefits the charitable acts of Montreal’s Yellow Bird Project. [Stereogum]

Blur/Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn is set to release a new solo album, Everyday Robots, on April 28th via Parlophone. Stream the track “Heavy Seas of Love” below, featuring guest vocals from none other than Brian Eno. [Pitchfork]

At last Tuesday’s Bridgeport, CT show, someone took the Arcade Fire‘s paper mache bobblehead designed to look like guitarist Richard ‘Reed’ Parry. The band released the following statement: “Richy’s bobblehead mask was taken from our show in Bridgeport, CT. This mask is a one of a kind piece that is an essential component to our live show. We have photos of the theft but rather than press charges we would prefer if the person who took it would get in touch with us to return it. Perhaps this is all an innocent mistake and you meant to leave the venue with your own oversized paper mache rendition of Richard Parry’s head? Please contact: info@quest-management.com with any information.” [Consequence of Sound]

At the recent Treefort Music Fest, Dan Deacon gave a presentation about the ephemeral nature of live performance, the importance of the audience in performance, and the approaching tipping point of technologies embraced by performers and audiences alike. You can now watch his talk below: